


We're the Future

by Skammmm



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bipolar Disorder, Fluff, Light Smut, Lot's of fluff, References to Depression, This will get quite angsty, tags will be added as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skammmm/pseuds/Skammmm
Summary: This will hopefully be a chaptered story that follows Sander and Robbe over the summer holidays and possibly into the school year. It will be about them dealing with something, mainly Robbe, that is a topic close to my heart and important to talk about.
Relationships: Aaron Jacobs/Amber Snoeckx, Milan Hendrickx/Original Character(s), Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans, Senne De Smet/Zoë Loockx
Comments: 1
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

Friday 12:00

‘Fuck, Amy I gotta go I’m gonna be late and I’m picking Robbe up from his last day of school’, Sander said whilst simultaneously shoving his laptop and notebook into his rucksack, him and Amy had chosen to partner together for their summer project and had met up to decide what they focus was going to be. It had gone well, Sander was so relieved to be working with someone like Amy, he could quickly get anxious when it came to partner work especially in big, long-term projects like this one but Amy was calm, insanely talented and had been in Sander’s class since he started college so they knew each other and how they worked well. Plus, a welcomed bonus was her love for Robbe. 

‘For God sake Sander, you always manage to remind me how single I am’, she said with a groan but accompanied it with a bright smile.

‘Sorry, Sorry’, he said laughing as they walked out of the café and towards their bikes. 

Both of them bent down to start unlocking their bikes. Sander was so excited to see Robbe, it wasn’t like they hadn’t been seeing each other lately but knowing that they were going to have all summer together without having to balance seeing each other and going out with the stress of exams and school. This was especially important for them because Robbe worked so hard and stressed himself out so much over exams and Sander knew this so had tried to give him space this last couple of months as his end of year exams only finished about 2 weeks ago and he’d been preparing for them and stressing himself out over them for at least the last 2 months, but now school was finally done and he had his beautiful man to himself for moreorless 2 whole months. 

‘So, what are you and your lover boy up to tonight?’, Amy asked whilst they pushed their bikes towards the bike lane on the street opposite. 

‘Umm well I’m picking him up and we’re going back to his place to just chill and stuff, then later we’re going with his friends to some party and then I’m going back to his for the night’

‘Oooh staying the night, how cute’, she said with a smirk. 

‘Calm down’, he said with a laugh.

‘His mum will be home’

‘Oh so keeping it PG I get you’

‘I hate you’, Sander laughed whilst he got on his bike. 

‘Love you too, I’ll see you later, say Hi to Robbe for me’

‘I will’, Sander called over his shoulder as he cycled off to meet his boyfriend. 

Friday 12:40

Sander was stood by the Gate of the school bouncing on the balls of his feet as he watched the hundreds of high school kids pour out, the excited atmosphere that came with the last day of school was palpable and only added to his excitement, he’d finished college a week ago but with Robbe still going to school for the week, summer hadn’t felt real. Finally, he saw Robbe, Jens, Moyo and Aaron leave the gate, Sander couldn’t help but smile as he watched his boyfriend’s gorgeous face immediately begin searching for his. Eventually, their eyes met and Robbe began walking towards him, the boys following once they saw who he was looking at. 

‘Hey cutie. Its Summer!’, Sander said whilst giving Robbe a quick kiss on his impatient lips. 

‘Fucking finally’, Robbe breathed out as he reached for Sander’s hands. 

The boys caught up with Robbe and Sander reached out to give them all a quick fist bump, joining in their excited chatter about the general fact that it was summer and they didn’t have to, to quote Aaron ‘come back to this hellhole’, for 8 weeks. 

‘So boys what’s the plan, should we start drinking now, or what’, Moyo laughed. 

‘Always down for that’, Aaron agreed. 

‘Me and Sander are gonna go back to mine for a bit and chill but we’re meet you back at yours for pres’, Robbe said to Jens. Whilst squeezing Sander’s hand, Sander squeezed back letting him know that he was just as excited as him to have a moment just the two of them. 

‘Yeah, yeah we’ll give you two love birds the afternoon but then we need you both back to the land of us singletons at 7’, Jens said with a laugh. 

The boys began talking as they began walking to the school’s bike rack, about the party tonight. Apparently, the girl whose house it was had been giving Jens the eye all week and Aaron and Moyo had various other ideas about who they had their eye on. He and Robbe walked a step or two behind, hands still together, which made Sander so proud, Robbe had been so reluctant to show any type of PDA whatsoever since the attack but the last couple of months he seemed to have grown in confidence and it made Sander’s heart jump every time he initiated any. 

Friday 13:00

‘Fuck Sander, I’ve missed you’, Robbe whispered as he pushed Sander against the wall of his hallway, after the quick realisation that Robbe’s mother wasn’t home, and began kissing him immediately making it dirty as he lightly used his teeth to pull on Sander’s bottom lip. Sander kissed back with just the same passion as he pulled Robbe’s hips closer to him needing to feel him everywhere. 

‘Not that you haven’t been amazing, so fucking amazing the last few months but I just-‘

‘I was thinking the exact same thing don’t worry, the last couple of months have been bloody busy’, Sander said with a smile, momentarily breaking the kiss to bob his nose against his adorable boyfriends one. 

Robbe smiled back before grabbing his hand and hurriedly pulling him up the stairs, Sander chuckled, he loved when Robbe took control like this as it showed him how comfortable he was around Sander, so okay to ask and take what he wanted rather than how he’d been at the start of their relationship so shy and unsure of himself when it came to almost everything not just sexual stuff. 

Friday 14:00

‘I love you’, Robbe said his chest heaving and dripping with sweat as he rolled out from beneath Sander and watched an equally breathless Sander collapse down face first into the pillow next to Robbe’s naked body. 

‘I love you too’, Sander replied as he draped his arm over Robbe’s chest, feeling like he could sleep for hours. 

Robbe manoeuvred himself, so that he could be the big spoon whilst he wrapped up Sander in his arms, yawning into his shoulder before lightly kissing them. Sander exhaled, his brain so empty of worries and full of content and so immensely grateful for the boy holding him.  
After around 10 minutes, Sander felt Robbe roll away from him and sit up. 

‘Can we do this all summer?’, Robbe said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and stretched his toned body. 

‘Of course’, Sander laughed, sitting up next to him.

‘I mean you’re the one going away with your dad, leaving me all alone, I’m not going anywhere all summer’, Sander said poking his boyfriend in the side, laughing and pulling him back towards him as Robbe let out a loud groan. 

‘You know I don’t want to go but my mum wants me to, she’s always liked my dad’s parents, if it was up to me I would never go away with my dad.’

‘I know, I know, but hey things have been going well with your dad lately and now that he’s moving back near your mum you’ll be seeing him more so you never know this might be good for your relationship’, Sander said keeping his voice cheery, Robbe always got anxious about seeing his dad so Sander knew that being forced to go away with him must be weighing on his mind. 

‘I highly doubt that’, Robbe chuckled

‘But it’s only for 4 days, think you can last that long without me?’, Robbe grinned. 

‘Nope, no way I’ll be a moody mess, my parents are gonna hate me’, Sander replied, running his fingers up Robbe’s arm as Robbe moved instinctively closer at the touch. 

‘So, when you go it’ll just be your dad’s parents your seeing?’

‘Yeah’, Robbe said softly eyes still closed as he continued to melt into the touch. That was something else Sander loved about Robbe, his tactile nature, always wanting to be touched always soaking it up. 

‘You’re dad doesn’t have any siblings then?’, Sander asked, thinking about how his aunts and uncles and his many cousins, made family dinners and holidays with his grandparents bearable. This didn’t seem to be the case for Robbe though as he stiffened at Sander’s side immediately at the question, making him regret asking. 

‘My dad has a brother, but I haven’t seen him in years’, Robbe said his voice surprisingly emotionless. 

‘Shall we shower?’, Robbe asked sending a clear message to Sander that they weren’t going to talk about whatever the end of that conversation was. And he didn’t mind, Robbe’s family wasn’t like his, they didn’t have that closeness that Sander’s did and he just needed to sometimes remind himself of that in certain conversations. 

‘Yes let’s go, you know it’s my favourite thing’, Sander said pulling Robbe in for a heated kiss. He felt Robbe breath into his mouth, clearly happily for Sander’s understanding of his desire to drop the topic. 

Friday 20:30

The boys were all on the bus on the way to the party, all lightly tipsy and all in a very good mood. Sander had decided that morning that he was going to let himself go a bit tonight and drop the 2 beer rule, it was the beginning of summer after all and he’d been so good for months. Robbe didn’t even flinch when Sander had reached for his third beer at the pre, Robbe trusted him and allowed him to decide how he handled his bipolar, which to Sander was an integral part of all his relationships and had shocked him so much at the start of their relationship, after 6 months with Britt who monitored and commented on everything. 

The party was already in full swing by the time they got here and the boys trailed in, and quickly found the girls in the living room. Sander really liked the girls: Zoe with her fierce beliefs and mothering nature, Yasmina’s unflinching confidence and clear affection for Robbe, Jana’s fun and free nature, Amber’s annoying yet funny passion for everything and Luca’s hilarious and honest liberalism. He almost felt more comfortable around them than he did the boys and he quickly found himself chatting to Zoe and Yasmina as Robbe stood with Jens and Moyo watching Aaron strike out with yet another girl. 

Saturday 01:03

The boys and the remaining girls were sat on the sofa in the living room, all mostly very drunk and very tired. Sander felt a sense of belonging as he sat with his arm around an almost asleep Robbe, as he laughed with Moyo about the various states of drunkenness and the subsequent drunk actions that they had witnessed that night, the fact that they were still tipsy themselves only served to make the stories seem even funnier. 

‘Shall we go baby boy’, Sander whispered into Robbe’s ear. 

‘Uh-huh, I want you’, Robbe whispered back, shocking Sander and sending a shiver down his spine. 

‘Oh, you did huh? You’re too drunk cutie’, Sander laughed as Robbe pouted drunkenly. 

Sander stood up and pulled Robbe up with him and putting a protective arm around his waist so that he could pull him out of the still crowded house. 

‘Right then boys, we’re heading out, see you later’, Sander said reaching out to pat Moyo and a passed out Aaron the back. Jens had disappeared with the host of the party about an hour ago.  
‘  
You good to get Aaron home?’, he asked Moyo suddenly aware of Robbe’s heavy presence on his side and he was a lot smaller and skinnier than Aaron. 

‘Yeah man, he’s staying at mine so we’ll just get an uber, you good with that one?’, he laughed looking at Robbe who was staring at Sander’s face like he’d never seen it before. 

‘Yeah’, Sander chuckled. 

‘See you later man’, he said to Moyo before pulling Robbe with him to the door. 

Once in the uber on the way back to Robbe’s, Sander pulled Robbe into his chest and told him to sleep, hoping that by the time they arrived he would have sobered up. Sander had stopped drinking about nine and had managed to be only mildly tipsy by home time. 

‘I’m so lucky’, Robbe said repeating his intense gaze from earlier. 

‘I’m the lucky one’, Sander said soothingly. 

‘I never thought I’d get this’, Robbe said clearly not taking in what Sander was saying. 

‘I’m so lucky’, Robbe repeated. Sander hushed him and stroked his hair as they pulled onto Robbe’s street. 

Quietly Sander unlocked the door and forced a moaning and groaning Robbe up the stairs and into his bed. Robbe striped off his clothes, too sleepy and drunk to fathom the affect he was having on Sander as he nakedly stood in front of his chest of drawers looking for a top to wear to bed, very slowly and unsuccessfully. Sander laughed quietly as he reached over Robbe’s shoulder and pulled a top out of his drawer and pulled his arms over his head so that he could put it on him. 

‘Goodnight my love’, Sander whispered into Robbe’s ear as Robbe curled into Sander’s side asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

Saturday 10:30

Sander blinked awake, struggling to keep his heavy eyes open when the sun was shining so brightly into Robbe’s room. He let out a yawn and stretched his body out, he always had a tendency to roll into himself in the night so often work up with a sore back. Slowly, he rolled over expecting to be met with the sleeping face of his boyfriend but instead Robbe’s side of the bed was empty, Sander was a deep sleeper so he wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t heard Robbe leave the bed. Maybe Robbe was in the bathroom he thought with a smile as he remembered the drunk state of his boyfriend after the party, his smile grew wider when he realised that his head felt clear and nausea free, he could count on one hand the amount of times he had been hungover and he’d hated it every time. 

The door creaked open and he watched Robbe tiptoe clearly thinking that Sander was still asleep. 

‘Oh, hi babe’, Robbe whispered once he looked over at the bed and saw Sander’s smile. 

‘I woke up without you’, Sander jokingly pouted, pulling Robbe back onto the bed by his shirt, startling a laugh out of Robbe as he allowed himself to fall into it. 

‘Did you feel sick?’, Sander said pressing kisses all over Robbe’s face. 

‘Nope little bit of a head ache but otherwise fine’, he laughed and grabbed Sander’s face to force him to stop moving and kiss him on his lips. Sander gladly obliged, planting a kiss on his boyfriend’s soft lips tasting the mint on his mouth. 

‘Oh really? You were so drunk last night I expected more of a hangover.’

‘What can I say? I might be a lightweight but I’m tough’, Robbe giggled.

‘Sorry you had to get me home last night though, I know you wanted to let go a little but then I made you be the responsible one again’, Robbe said suddenly.

‘Robbe, you’re always the responsible one’, Sander chuckled.

‘And I did let go, it was a great night’, he said soothingly running his hand’s through Robbe’s messy hair. Robbe replied by climbing on top of him and heatedly kissing him, slipping his hand under Sander’s t-shirt and rubbing his sides. Lazily, Sander sighed into the kiss moving his hands to Robbe’s arse, causing a loud giggle from Robbe. 

‘My mum’s awake’, he giggled.

‘I see’, he said moving his hands back onto Robbe’s side.

‘Were you up talking to her?’, he asked.

‘Uhhh, no my dad called about half an hour ago’, Robbe said sliding off Sander and sinking into the bed next to him. 

‘What did he want?’

‘Just wanted to check the details for next weekend, apparently there’s some family surprise’, Sander didn’t miss the way his words came out more detached and clipped anytime he spoke about his dad and it was beginning to make him worry. Robbe had told him about the incident the night he’d seen Sander kiss Britt since then it had become increasingly obvious that Robbe might have some anxiety or depression issues, he’d felt so guilty when Robbe had first told him that it took a couple of days for him to see the bigger picture and to be honest the bigger picture scared him. Robbe had assured him it was an isolated incident and that he was fine, but his amazing, amazing boyfriend had been through a lot in his short life and Sander had made a mental note to try and quietly help his boyfriend, just the same way Robbe did him. And this, whatever Robbe was feeling towards his father and having to go away with him, was beginning to look like something Sander should be helping him with but it was hard, Robbe never asked nor felt like he needed help and had a habit of closing himself up whenever he didn’t no how to voice his feelings. 

‘You know Robbe you don’t have to go’, Robbe went to interrupt immediately.

‘No just, I know you want to make your mum happy and she wants you to have a relationship with your dad but you can continue to develop a relationship with him without having to go on an trip, just allow yourself to choose for once’, Sander said nervously, talking quickly not wanting to overstep. 

‘Thank you’, Robbe said quietly after a awkward minute of silence.

‘I know that I don’t know how to talk about my dad and that I get really closed off and I really don’t mean to’

‘Robbe’s its fine really, I get it I just don’t want to see you work yourself up about something that you don’t have to do’, Sander said continuing to stroke his hair.

‘It’s so much easier to just go though, you know. It pleases my mum and my dad and it’s only for 4 days and then hopefully my dad will back off and we can spend the summer how we wanted’, Sander wanted to tell him that he can’t just do what other people want and avoid conflict to keep everyone but himself happy, but he knew to just drop it because him and Robbe were different and approached things differently.

‘Did he say what the surprise was?’

‘Nope, just that a few changes have occurred the last few weeks but that I’d see on the trip, clearly he thinks I’m gonna be pleased with whatever the change is but I couldn’t really care less’

Sander hummed quietly, thinking of a way to try and change the topic of conversation sensing that Robbe wanted to drop it. Thankfully, Robbe’s mum did it for them as she called them down for breakfast. He rolled out of bed grabbed a pair of Robbe’s trackies and slipped them on, using his t-shirt from last night to slap Robbe’s arse as they left the room

Saturday 17:53

The boys were all sat in Aaron’s back garden, the day had been boiling, uncomfortably hot and sticky. Robbe and Sander had helped Robbe’s mum do the grocery shopping for the week that morning and since she wasn’t allowed to drive they’d walked and it had been torture but incredibly funny at the same time, he loved watching Robbe and his mum it was so endearing the way they joked and teased each other and Robbe’s mum had made the walk back with all the bags fun as she dramatically struggled against the heat. However, they were all sweaty and gross by the time they got back and even though it was only 12:30 they’d decided to stay in, away from the heat until they had to go to Aarons that evening. 

It had been perfect, exactly how Sander imagined it to be, they’d spent the afternoon chatting and watching movies. Sometimes cuddled up next to each other, other times with   
them sat on different sofas Sander sketching (usually Robbe) and Robbe on his phone or chatting to his mum when she came in to sit and watch some of the movie with them.   
And now they were sat in the much nicer evening sun, eating Pizza and drinking beer laughing at just about anything Aaron said and playing cards, that Sander always seemed to lose. It was a chill evening with everyone still tired from the night before and he loved it. 

‘Robbe you can’t help him’, Jens shouted indignantly. 

‘Awh, isn’t it cute though?’

‘No Aaron it’s cheating’

Robbe and Sander laughed, as Robbe told him which card to give up and which card to keep.

‘But I need the help’, Sander said continuing to laugh.

‘I’m an art major’

‘Oh fuck off!’, Moyo said choking on his laughter

‘Like that means anything’

Robbe put his arm around Sander, jokingly shielding him from the boys attack which caused another round of, ‘Awwwww’s’ to break out. 

Saturday 23:25

‘Sander, OMG please stop I’m begging you’, Robbe begged pulling on his arm, laughing hysterically as they walked back to Robbe’s. 

‘This is major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door  
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way  
And the stars look very different today  
Here am I sitting in a tin can far above the world  
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do’, Sander ignored him continuing to belt out the lyrics at the top of his lungs. 

Suddenly, Robbe pulled on his arm and pulled him closely to him causing Sander to swallow the next line of the song as Robbe kissed him ferociously. 

‘My singing turns you on, huh?’, Sander laughed breaking away from the kiss.

‘NO!’, Robbe giggled.

‘I need you to stop and you never listen’, Robbe whispered into his ear slowly moving his hand down from Sander’s shoulder, slowly over his chest causing Sander to bite down hard on his lip. 

‘Are you going listen to me now?’, Robbe said suddenly grabbing Sander’s already growing bulge. 

Sander moaned into Robbe’s ear in shock, once again he was being left so endeared by Robbe’s growing confidence. He really had taken Sander’s ‘Fuck them!’ comment regarding the homophobic idiots that hurt them to heart. And all Sander could do was nod.

‘We’re gonna have to be quite when we get to mine, my mum will be sleeping. Do you think you can do that?’

‘I think we both know, which one of us struggles with being quiet’, Sander chuckled grabbing Robbe’s face and kissing him hard to the point where they both stood in the middle of the pavement, extremely hard and giggling shamelessly. 

‘Let’s get out of here’, Robbe whispered.

‘Yes sir, yes sir’

‘Shut up’, Robbe giggled pulling Sander by the sleeve down the street to his house.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch3: Monday 13:09  
‘Sarah, they seems to be a young man at our door, but I’m not sure who he is. Do you know him?’, Sander’s dad said shouting to his mother in the kitchen in his typically exaggerated manner. 

‘One weekend dad, I’ve been gone for one weekend.’, he groaned, laughing as his dad jokingly tried to stop him from entering the house. 

‘Morning sweet heart’, his mum winked at him as he entered the kitchen, that smelt delicious. 

‘Your dad only gets funnier in his old age, doesn’t he?’, she joked as Sander leaned over the kitchen counter to give her a kiss on the cheek. 

‘Well apparently my son has moved out, so that would make me old yes’, his dad said pouring the just boiled kettle into the cup. Sander laughed, he loved being at Robbe’s but he loved coming home as well to the comfort of his incredible parents. Sander had been worried when his sister left for university in London 2 years ago that the whole dynamic would change and that all the attention would be on him, and if they was one thing he didn’t need it was any more attention but his parents had been amazing. The perfect balance between making him feel completely safe and protected as well as enough freedom so that he could go and spend a weekend at his boyfriends, no questions asked. Of course, they argued and Sander could feel smothered sometimes when he was coming out of an episode or when his parents were worried he was falling into one but Sander tried not to take his frustrations over his condition out on them, because they did trust him to know himself and how he was feeling but it wasn’t like he hadn’t sometimes given them reasons to worry or hid important things from them so he understood why they sometimes hovered over him or asked one too many questions. 

‘How was your weekend?’, his mother asked as they sat at the kitchen table. His parents with their teas and him with a steaming cup of coffee. 

‘Yes, how is my dear Robbe?’, his father asked. Like everyone else in Sander’s life his parents loved Robbe. He never realised that they didn’t like Britt and that they saw how controlling she was and had been left gobsmacked when his mother had suddenly announced a few months ago that she loved Robbe because, ‘he is everything Britt wasn’t’. 

‘It was nice, very chill. We went to a party on Friday night but the rest of the weekend was just chilled out. Watched some movies with his mother, cooked her dinner last night, too hot to really go anywhere.’

‘Yes it was bloody hot’, his father chuckled.

‘Thank God for the rain this morning, my plants were desperate’, Sander laughed, his mother was truly addicted to gardening and him and his dad never failed to tease her about it. 

‘Cares more about those plants then she does me, you’re mother’, his dad whispered as Sander put his cup in the dishwasher about to go upstairs and shower, laughing at his mothers unbothered face. 

‘What’s your plan for the week, honey?’

‘Ummm, nothing concrete but Robbe’s going away with his dad on Friday morning until Monday evening so I’ll probably stay at his Thursday evening help him pack and stuff’, really he just wanted to be there in case Robbe panicked and needed him. 

‘But other than that, we’ll probably just see what the boys and stuff want to do.’

‘Perfect, well we’d love to have him round for dinner one night, can you check what day he is free’, his mother asked.

‘Yeah, I’ll text him after I shower’.

Monday 14:00  
All showered and laying on his bed, with his bag from the weekend not yet unpacked and laying on the floor next to him, he switched on his phone and smiled at the text he’d received from Robbe. 

R: Missing you already, thanks for a perfect weekend!  
S: No, Mr Ijzermans thank you for the perfect  
weekend.  
I should probably spend the day with my parents  
but tomorrow? And also my mum wants you  
round for dinner this week, any day you want?xx  
R: Must be hard to know that your parents love  
me more than you (haha). But I’m free  
any day, would Wednesday work? And yes  
tomorrow. The boys want to go to the skate  
park but we could go get breakfast and then  
meet them there?xx  
S: Well, I don’t know if I want to go to breakfast with  
someone who bullies me!  
R: Awwww, did I hurt your feelings, my  
mum loves you more than me anyway.  
S: Only cos I can actually cook!  
S: You most definitely can’t but yes sounds perfect. And I’ll  
let my mum know about dinner.  
R: Good, I love you, have a good day!xx  
S: Love you too, text u later.xx  
X

Monday 17:33

‘Look Becky, your brother finally returned to us’, his dad shouted as Sander walked into the kitchen for the skype call with his sister. She had meant to come home for the summer as soon as her uni term but then her new boyfriend invited her on his family holiday to Greece and well who would refuse that. He and his sister had always been close but also both very independent and different so even though he did always enjoy it when she was home, he was glad to see her living life and having fun. 

‘Hi Becky, having fun?’, Sander laughed as he pulled up a chair to and made sure he was in the frame.

‘So much fun, there’s a massive pool and we’re a 5 minute walk from the beach’

‘Uhhhh, you’re making me jealous’, moaned his mum.

‘Hey, once you’ve got this promotion, which by the end of August I am positive you will we can go on all the trips we want’, cut in his father placatingly. 

‘Anyway, when are we going to meet this boyfriend of yours?’, he asked his sister who visibly blushed through the screen.

‘Yes!’, his father shouted.

‘And then we’ll have a competition between him and Robbe’

‘That’s unfair, you’ve known Robbe for months’, His sister replied.

‘Well, if you just let us meet him then we could know him for months as well’, his mother smiled.

‘Soon, I’ll bring him home soon’, she said softly. 

Monday 20:12  
R: How was your day?  
S: Good thanks Babe. I just chilled with my parents, finished  
that painting I started last week. We skyped Becky and  
teased her about her new boyfriend, then had dinner and  
now we’re sat in front of the TV. You?  
R: Went to see Milan and Zoe cos he’s  
been begging me. Chilled with them  
for a few hours, played a bit of fortnight  
with Senne. Had dinner with my mum and  
just about to get in the shower.  
S: Awww they miss you and I know you miss Milan’s hugs.  
I can’t believe you’re showering without me, I feel betrayed.  
R: What do u want from me, you can’t  
have a smelly boyfriend.  
S:You never smell, you’re never anything but sexy.  
R: Shut up. I’m getting in the shower.  
S: Send me pics? (:  
R: U wish!


	4. Chapter 4

Tuesday 17:37

Sander was stood in Robbe’s living room as he showered upstairs. They’d been at the skate park all day and Robbe needed to shower and change before they went to grab dinner. Sander looked just the same as he had that morning as he was just an observer, he’d never skated and had no desire to learn despite the boy’s begging. So he just took photos and shouted from the side lines, he loved watching Robbe concentrate and the time flew by. But Sander didn’t feel as content as he had on the weekend as when Robbe had met him for breakfast that morning the purple bags under his eyes were impressive and it had left him confused, it had only been 24 hours since he saw him last and he’d looked fine, so how badly had he slept the night before to look like that, if he slept at all? Robbe brushed it off so Sander did too but then Jens noticed, and he was hardly Mr observant, but again Robbe acted as if it was nothing. 

‘Sander darling would you help me chop these peppers’, Kate called from the kitchen, shocking Sander out his spiral. 

‘Yeah of course’, he replied wandering into the kitchen.   
He felt a closeness to Robbe’s mum, they was a silent understanding between the two and they’d shared love for the boy upstairs had made them fast friends. 

‘He looks very tired today’, Kate said out of nowhere, causing Sander to look up quickly. The look in his eyes must have made it painfully obvious to her that he knew exactly what she meant and was just as worried as she reached out and patted his hand. 

‘He’s had trouble sleeping for years, literally years probably since he was about 9 and do you want to know something?’, she said rhetorically.

‘He’s never said anything, not even when he was little, never came to get me, never asked to come into me and his dads bed, never complained or told me how he’d been lying awake half the night.’

‘I just worked it out over the years cos of how tired he was and the comments from teachers telling me he’d fallen asleep in class. And I tried but with the episodes being as frequent as they were because it took me so long to get help, I just didn’t give him enough attention, probably only added to his worries. But I’m trying to get through to him and make it better but he just won’t’-

‘Ask for help’, Sander finished for her. 

‘Exactly’.

Sander was in shock, he had no idea it had been going on for so long and it made his heart physically ache in his chest to think nine year old Robbe wouldn’t for whatever reason go and wake his parents up when he couldn’t sleep. Sander had loads of memories of little him getting into bed with his parents or sister after a nightmare or when he just wanted one more story to help him drift off. 

‘I think maybe he’s nervous about the trip this weekend’, Kate interrupted his thoughts again.

‘Yeah, I think you’re right’, he replied.

‘you ready to go Sander?’, Robbe called as he ran down the stairs, startling both him and Kate.   
Sander smiled at Kate, hoping it came out as compassionately and soothingly as he intended, hoping it conveyed, ‘I’ve got this’.

‘Yep, let’s go!’, He called back. 

Wednesday 00:04  
Sander in fact did not ‘have it’, he thought to himself as he lay sprawled out on his single bed back at his parents after dropping Robbe home after dinner. He’d tried to talk to Robbe like he really had, he brought up the sleeping and the trip numerous times, but Robbe shut him down or changed the topic of conversation every time, and then eventually seemed as if he was going to leave or cry if Sander brought it up again. And Sander just couldn’t bear to think that he was making Robbe uncomfortable when Robbe always told him how happy he was that he could finally be himself and be comfortable around someone, so he allowed the subject to be dropped and just concentrated on making his boyfriend smile. But now he was alone and desperately trying to think of ways to get Robbe to open up to him and help him. 

Wednesday 12:20  
You still up for dinner tonight, cutie?  
Of course, What time do u want me?  
Literally any time but dinner will be about 7. Did u  
sleep better last night?xx  
Not really, I think It’s the heat.   
But I’ll be round at like 5 if that   
works?   
How many hours did you get? And perfect.xx  
Jesus dad, I got enough sleep I’m  
fine (: (:   
Don’t tease me, I worry about you, you know?  
I know but I swear I’m good, I’ve  
just never been a good sleeper so   
little things like the heat always   
affect my sleep. I’m going to Jens to   
hangout but see you later? Xx  
Well, I’ll be staying at yours tomorrow so we’ll just have to  
find a way to make sure you sleep.   
Oh will we now? (:

Sander sighed, it hadn’t even been that hot last night and Robbe had, had a full day at the skatepark and then he knew he hadn’t even tried to sleep before 2 because they’d both been dming each other stuff on Instagram until late. So why was Robbe lying to him, why wouldn’t he just be honest with Sander about whatever was keeping him up? Sander had apologised so many times for the things he did at the start of their relationship and made a promise to always be honest with Robbe going forward and he had been, Robbe knew everything they was to know and Robbe wouldn’t open up to him in the same way. His frustration was growing but he knew that he couldn’t get angry about it because conflict made Robbe clam up even more and Sander knew that he was still dealing with insecurity’s about being gay and being in a relationship so he couldn’t make him doubt their relationship which Robbe was likely to do if he brought the sleeping stuff up in the wrong way. He just couldn’t help but feel that they was a part of Robbe that he was hiding, from him and he didn’t no how to express to Robbe that it simply didn’t matter what it was because he was in this for the long haul.


End file.
